Visitors to Ha Long Bay may pay higher entrance fees next year

The Hanoitimes – Visitors to Ha Long Bay for daytime tours will not be directly affected by the decision on increase the bay entrance fees as the fees will be hike "just" 20 to 25%, local authorities said.The Ha Long Bay management board has proposed raising the entrance fees for visiting Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO world heritage site, from January 1, 2019.

Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh province.

Under the proposal of the management board, the fees for sightseeing routes No.1, 2 and 5 in Ha Long Bay would be hiked by 20% to VND300,000 (US$13.6) per person, from the current VND250,000 (US$10.7). In addition, the fee for sightseeing route No. 4 will be raised by 25% to VND250,000 (US$10.7) per person from the current VND200,000 (US$8.6). The cost for route No.3 will remained unchanged.Meanwhile, the fees for overnight tours in Ha Long Bay world be increased between 73% and 95% to VND900,000 – 1.3 million per person from the current VND500,000 – 750,000 (US$22.7 – 34).The proposal was based on the Ministry of Finance’s instructions on fees and entrance fees for many tourist spots in the region have been raised. However, the final decision would be made by the provincial People’s Council at a meeting in October 2018, according to Deputy head of Ha Long Bay management board Pham Dinh Huynh.If approved, this would be the second rise in the entrance fees for Ha Long Bay since April 2017. 11% of the bay entrance fees are given to the management board, while the remainder is handed over to the Ha Long People’s Committee, Huynh added.In 2017, visitors to Ha Long paid an estimated VND1.02 trillion (US$45 million).In the first half of 2018, Ha Long Bay received more than 1.8 million visitors, up 110% over the same period last year, according to the Quang Ninh Department of Tourism.Quang Ninh province aims to attract over 12 million visitors this year, including five million foreigners. Ha Phuong